1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge for a display apparatus, and more particularly, to a portable display having a hinge rotatably coupling a lid to a main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hinge used in a conventional LCD is described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional LCD includes a main body 2 and a lid having a rear case 1. A keyboard 15 for inputting data is retained in the main body. An LCD unit 30 is provided in the rear case 1 for displaying data that are input from the keyboard 15.
A hinge 10 rotatably coupling the lid with the main body is attached to the side of the main body 2 and the side of the rear case 1 of the lid.
The dimension of the hinge 10 is proportional to the size of the computer.
The weight of the lid increases in proportion to the size of the portable information processing display. Therefore, as the weight of the lid increases, so too must the size of the hinges which support the lid when it is open.
As shown in FIG. 2, the hinge-shaft 11 is fixed within a cylindrical apparatus 12 in the conventional portable information processing display. The cylindrical apparatus 12 is attached to the edge of the main body 2 and the hinge-shaft 11 is fixed to the rear case 1 of the lid. Therefore, the hinge-shaft is capable of rotating so that the lid can open and close. The torque elements should have enough supporting strength to support the lid when it is open at a desired angle. In the conventional portable information processing display having a 12-inch screen, for example, the cylindrical apparatus which houses the hinge-shaft should be more than 6 mm in width and 8 mm in length.
Because the cylindrical apparatus having the above described dimensions is located at the top edge of the main body, the maximum size of the screen is limited by the space depicted by the letter "C" in FIG. 1.
To solve this problem, another portable information processing display has a hinge 10 attached to each side of the lid and the main body as shown in FIG. 3. This structure allows an increase in the size of the screen to some degree. However, because the cylindrical apparatus housing the hinge is located at the side of the main body and the lid, the apparatus is not flush with the main body and lid and juts out from the side. This results in an increased size of the unit, and an uneven profile that is neither ergonomic nor aesthetically pleasing.